It is a truth universally acknowledged, that many research papers, books and articles have been written about Jane Austen. Ever since Mary Lascelles put Austen studies firmly on the map with her...Show moreIt is a truth universally acknowledged, that many research papers, books and articles have been written about Jane Austen. Ever since Mary Lascelles put Austen studies firmly on the map with her 1937 publication Jane Austen and Her Art, there have been ongoing debates about Austen, led by academics like Janet Todd, Deirdre Le Faye, and David Selwyn. One of these debates is about whether or not she should be called a (proto)feminist writer, and authors such as Miriam Ascarelli, Margaret Kirkham, and Claudia L. Johnson have contributed a lot to this subject. This thesis aims to show that Austen was a radical author for her time, who displays some very proto-feministic views in her novels. To prove that Austen was a proto-feminist author, this thesis will analyse Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park, Pride and Prejudice and Northanger Abbey, and relate these novels to the views and opinions of one of the first proto-feminists, Mary Wollstonecraft, written down in Vindication of the Rights of Woman.Show less
“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.” The opening sentence of one of Jane Austen’s most famous romantic novel Pride...Show more“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.” The opening sentence of one of Jane Austen’s most famous romantic novel Pride and Prejudice does not only claim a universal truth on love and marriage, it also provides insight into the perceptions of love and the norms and values that govern love in the 19th Century, as does the entire novel. However, society and the social-cultural norms governing it have changed immensely since the nineteenth-century world of Pride and Prejudice, it is therefore more than likely that a modern contemporary audience, without any social-historical or cultural background, would not fully understand the social and cultural setting of the novel. Furthermore, the practice of and ideas surrounding translation also underwent great change. This thesis researches whether the changes in socio-cultural norms and perceptions are noticeable in diachronic research of romantic literature in translation, on either a linguistic (stylistic) or cultural level, by conducting a comparative study of Dutch translations of Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.Show less
